Eight warships yesterday joined a US aircraft carrier and scores of helicopters and airplanes to search for three US sailors who went missing after their airplane crashed in the Philippine Sea.
The families of the missing sailors were notified after a C-2A Greyhound with 11 people on board went down on Wednesday afternoon about 930km southeast of Okinawa, the US Navy said in a statement.
Eight sailors were rescued shortly after the accident and taken for medical evaluation to USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier that was in the Philippine Sea for an exercise with Japanese forces.
“All are in good condition at this time,” the statement said.
The airplane was on a routine transport flight, carrying passengers and cargo from US Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southern Japan to the Ronald Reagan.
The Ronald Reagan is leading the joint effort by the US and Japanese navies to find the missing sailors.
“Searching through the night, several ships and aircraft covered more than 320 nautical miles [592.6km] as of this morning,” the US Navy said in a statement yesterday.
The US destroyers USS Stethem, USS Chafee and USS Mustin have been combing the area, along with maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters.
They were joined by the Japanese helicopter carriers JS Kaga and JS Ise, as well as the Japanese destroyers JS Teruzuki, JS Samidare and JS Shimakaze.
“The @USNavy is conducting search and rescue following aircraft crash. We are monitoring the situation. Prayers for all involved,” US President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday.
The C-2A is a resupply workhorse for US aircraft carriers, routinely ferrying cargo, mail and people onto and off the globally deployed vessels.
The cause of the accident is unknown. The US Navy has launched an investigation.
US authorities initially told Japan on Wednesday that engine trouble was the suspected cause of the accident.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was